Your Next Meal: Chocolate-Espresso Smoothie

San Francisco pastry chef David Chesarek is a chocoholic so dedicated that he eats the sweet stuff even after a run, although he learned the hard way not to reach for something too rich. "Pounding brownies after a run isn't smart, trust me," says Chesarek, the owner of the specialty company My Friend the Chocolate Cake in San Francisco. Instead, the 42-year-old gets his fix with this chocolate and banana smoothie spiked with espresso. "It gets your blood sugar up and rehydrates," he says.

Chesarek earned his pastry stripes at restaurants in New York City and San Francisco and developed the habit of postworkout smoothies while a student at UC Berkeley. "It became my way to reward myself after a run," he says. Great smoothies, like great cakes, are all about quality ingredients, he says. Besides chocolate, he makes smoothies using guava or passion-fruit juice blended with whatever fruit he has on hand-strawberries, white peaches, mango-and a little maple syrup and ice.

Chesarek, who qualified for the 1988 Olympic Trials in the 400-meter hurdles, logs 15 miles a week. He runs along San Francisco's waterfront, but he also loves to venture up the city's 15 percent grades. "In 20 minutes, you can pretty much kill yourself," he says. "It's perfect." Especially when followed by chocolate.

Off The Menu

Most popular cake: "By far the chocolate velvet with fudge frosting."

Most memorable run: "In New York when there was two feet of snow. The roads were plowed in Central Park, so I went out. There was no one else there except a reporter doing a story on the snow-with me running in it."

Place half of the yogurt plus all of the remaining ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Add remaining yogurt and pulse until smooth. (If you add the full container of yogurt at the beginning, the mixture is too thick to blend easily.) For a thicker smoothie, blend in up to a cup more ice. Serves two.

*Any ripe banana will work, but a browned and frozen banana lends better flavor and texture.

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